Our Proposal

Paid leave by business size (based on full time equivalent employees and 40-hr work week):

5 to 49 FTE: employees accrue 1 hour for every 40 worked, up to a 40 hour cap.

50 to 249 FTE: employees accrue 1 hour for every 40 worked, up to a 56 hour cap.

250+ FTE: employees accrue 1 hour for every 30 worked, up to 72 hours. If the employer provides a combined paid leave policy, such as PTO, employees accrue up to 108 hours.

Permitted uses of paid sick and safe time:

For the employee’s illness or injury, diagnosis, treatment, and preventative care;

For health needs of a child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, or grandparent;

To cope with the consequences of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking;

If the worker’s place of business, or a child’s school or place of care, is closed for a public health emergency.

Flexibility and responsibility:

PTO and other paid leave: Employers may provide PTO, another method of accrual, or more generous benefits as long as the minimum is available as sick and safe time.

Shift swapping: With the consent of their employers, workers may swap shifts instead of taking paid leave.

Carry over and caps: Accrued leave up to the cap carries over into the next year. Employees are not entitled to use more leave than their capped amount in a year.

Waiting period for new employees: Leave begins accruing immediately, but employees aren’t entitled to use it for 180 days.

Retaliation prohibited: Workers cannot be penalized for using leave for covered purposes.

Recordkeeping: Employers do not need to change recordkeeping practices, as long as records reasonably reflect hours worked and leave accrued and taken.

Payment of medical certification costs: Employers may require documentation for absences longer than 3 consecutive days. If employers do not offer health insurance, employers and employees each pay 50% of the costs of obtaining such documentation.

Collective bargaining agreements: Labor unions and their employers may bargain over provisions.

Our Plan

Our 2015-16 Bills

Makini Howell: Why paid sick days better my business

Makini’s restaurant business has grown since Seattle’s paid sick leave law went into effect, with new locations and more employees. She worked with Seattle City Council to craft the sick leave legislation that helps small businesses like hers thrive, and is a proud supporter of expanding paid leave statewide. Read more